The present invention relates generally to the field of exercise equipment. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a portable exercise device.
Portable exercise devices of various sorts are known. One type of exercise device that has received some measure of success in the marketplace over the years is a cord-and-pulley device that may be removably attached to a door, e.g., the door of a hotel room, office, or house, among others, that provides a temporary support for the device while it is in use. This type of exercise device is useful for, among other things, aerobic exercise, resistance training, and rehabilitative therapy, such as strength and range-of-motion therapy. These exercise devices are typically lightweight and compact, two key criteria for portability, which is often an important selling point for the devices. Another important feature of this type of exercise device is that it is easily used in virtually any setting having a relatively sturdy door that can support the device during use.
An example of such an exercise device is the Travel Trainer(trademark) device available from Javelin Sports, Inc., Burlington, Vt. The Travel Trainer(trademark) device includes a fixed length of rope, or cord, and a pulley attached to a securing device, which is removably mountable to a door or similar structure. The cord has a loop formed adjacent each of its ends that engages a corresponding handgrip that a user may grip with one of his/her hands, or other body part, while using the exercise device. Each loop is formed by securing an end portion of the cord to another portion of the cord with a compression sleeve crimped into firm engagement with these two portions of the cord. The cord engages the pulley, which allows a user to move the handgrips in a reciprocating fashion with substantially negligible wear on the cord while applying generally counterbalancing forces to the handgrips. In this manner, the user can exercise various body parts by reciprocatingly moving the handgrips repeatedly for a period of time while maintaining a suitable amount of tension in the cord. The user may change the resistance by changing the angle the his/her body forms with respect to vertical. For example, when the user""s body performs a particular exercise with his/her body at a 45xc2x0 angle with respect to vertical, the resistance will be greater than when the user""s body performs the same exercise with his/her body at a 20xc2x0 angle with respect to vertical.
A drawback of conventional exercise devices such as the Travel Trainer(trademark) device is that the fixed length of cord provided with the device does not provide any adjustability of the device to suit various conditions, such as the height of the user, the height of the door the user mounts the device to, and/or the type of exercise the use desires to perform. Another drawback of these conventional exercise devices is that they generally do not include any means for permitting a user to determine how much force he/she is applying to the cord during a workout. The present invention overcomes these and other shortcomings of conventional exercise devices.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a system for measuring a force. The system comprises a generally triangular-shaped force-carrying element that includes a first leg and a second leg that generally converge with one another to form a crotch having a center. Each of the first and second legs have a distal end spaced from the crotch. A third leg extends between the distal ends of the first and second leg to keep the distal ends spaced from one another. A sensor is operatively coupled to the first and second legs between the crotch and the third leg for sensing a change in distance between the first and second legs when a force is applied to the third leg generally along a line extending through the center of the crotch.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a length adjuster for an elongate flexible member having a length, a transverse dimension, a first portion, and a second portion spaced from the first portion along the length of the elongate flexible member, wherein the elongate flexible member carries a tensile force therein. The length adjuster comprises a body having a longitudinal axis, a first end, and a second end spaced from the first end along the longitudinal axis. A plurality of slots is formed in the body for receiving the elongate flexible member therein in a serpentine manner. Each of the plurality of slots has a width substantially equal to or less than the transverse dimension of the elongate flexible member. At least some of the plurality of slots are oriented substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis so as to form a plurality of outside corners. At least some of the outside corners interact with the elongate flexible member when the elongate flexible member is engaged with the plurality of slots so as to transfer at least a portion of the tensile force from the elongate flexible member into the body. A first one of the plurality of slots is located adjacent the first end of the body and configured so that the first portion of the elongate flexible member extends away from the first end when the elongate flexible member is engaged in the plurality of slots and is carrying the tensile force. A second one of the plurality of slots is located adjacent the second end of the body and configured so that the second portion of the elongate flexible member extends away from the second end when the elongate flexible member is engaged in the plurality of slots and is carrying the tensile force.
In a further aspect, the present invention is directed to an exercise device comprising a pulley having a rotational axis. An elongate flexible member engages the pulley in a manner that causes the pulley to rotate about the rotational axis when the elongate flexible member is moved relative to the pulley. The exercise device further comprises an electronic display and a generator operatively coupled to the pulley and to the electronic display so that the pulley drives the generator and the generator provides power to the electronic display when the elongate flexible member causes the pulley to rotate.